Android phones 'leak' personal data

[heartbeatz]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13422308

I don't have a phone yet, but this could impact which one I do end up buying.

[Throne777]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13422308

I don't have a phone yet, but this could impact which one I do end up buying.

Why? It says the updated version fixes the problem.

[Icehuck]

Why? It says the updated version fixes the problem.

Except some older/current phones won't get the updates ever.

[aysiu]

Sometimes, found the researchers, these tokens are sent in plain text over wireless networks. This makes the tokens easy to spot so criminals eavesdropping on the wi-fi traffic would be able to find and steal them, suggest the researchers. A great reason not to use a "free" wireless network.

I'm sure if there's enough hoopla in the press about this, Google (and subsequently the handset makers) will release a patch for it for even the older versions.

[galacticaboy]

See everyone is complaining that the iPhone or Android phones leak their data and tell others where they are or have been. Just don't buy them, buy a phone with the whorish old Symbian OS on it, or better yet, buy a PHONE that does just that, PHONING and not computing like a computer should, I am sorry, you do not need to watch YouTube or play angry birds while driving your car, or anything, play that stuff when you get home on your computer. You want to know why my data has not been leaked from one of those phones? Because I have a phone that just calls, it has a green screen and cannot even text. It works, trust me.

[sostentado]

wooooooooo

[kaldor]

See everyone is complaining that the iPhone or Android phones leak their data and tell others where they are or have been. Just don't buy them, buy a phone with the whorish old Symbian OS on it, or better yet, buy a PHONE that does just that, PHONING and not computing like a computer should, I am sorry, you do not need to watch YouTube or play angry birds while driving your car, or anything, play that stuff when you get home on your computer. You want to know why my data has not been leaked from one of those phones? Because I have a phone that just calls, it has a green screen and cannot even text. It works, trust me.

^

[Grenage]

See everyone is complaining that the iPhone or Android phones leak their data and tell others where they are or have been. Just don't buy them, buy a phone with the whorish old Symbian OS on it, or better yet, buy a PHONE that does just that, PHONING and not computing like a computer should, I am sorry, you do not need to watch YouTube or play angry birds while driving your car, or anything, play that stuff when you get home on your computer. You want to know why my data has not been leaked from one of those phones? Because I have a phone that just calls, it has a green screen and cannot even text. It works, trust me.

Yeah! It's also really irritating when people moan about manufacturing defects in car brakes; just get the bus. I could go on, but I won't.

[Johnsie]

<rant>

The BBC hates android... This is just FUD. Anyone who follows their tech news knows that the BBC are apple fanboys who would give their right arm to get people using Apple products instead. They've been giving Microsoft a hard time for the last few years while proudly proclaiming everything that Apple (and Stephen Fry, Apples plant at the BBC) does. If they have an article about Android they have to mention an Apple product somewhere in there, but if they have an article about the iPhone when nobody else matters because its their hero apple.
</rant>

[aysiu]

you do not need to watch YouTube or play angry birds while driving your car I don't have a car. Smartphones are very handy for long bus rides.

[Oxwivi]

[...] (and subsequently the handset makers) will release a patch for it for even the older versions.
Yes, the will, unless the manufacturer are some shady makers of iPad rip-offs running Android.

[Oxwivi]

Tokens? Why don't Google use the plain old cookies, hated as they are for tracking.

[Oxwivi]

<rant>

The BBC hates android... This is just FUD. Anyone who follows their tech news knows that the BBC are apple fanboys who would give their right arm to get people using Apple products instead. They've been giving Microsoft a hard time for the last few years while proudly proclaiming everything that Apple (and Stephen Fry, Apples plant at the BBC) does. If they have an article about Android they have to mention an Apple product somewhere in there, but if they have an article about the iPhone when nobody else matters because its their hero apple.
</rant>
I haven't read any of their tech articles before, but in this case they've a legitimate citation of researchers...

[BrokenKingpin]

They don't leak personal data... Google steals it :P

[Madspyman]

Google already fixed this problem long before the news broke. The problem is the carrier refuse to push the updates to existing phones, even after its been made available to them. Instead they favor selling new handsets with the upgrades advertised as a feature.

[akand074]

A great reason not to use a "free" wireless network.

I'm sure if there's enough hoopla in the press about this, Google (and subsequently the handset makers) will release a patch for it for even the older versions.

+1, personally, I use internet on my phone in two places most often: Home and University. Both have wireless networks (some people would use it at work where most would also have wireless). For other times I run off 3G. It's fast, most give you enough bandwidth for general usage, though personally I have 6GB so I'll never go over it (unless you don't have reception I suppose WiFi wins but how often does that happen).


See everyone is complaining that the iPhone or Android phones leak their data and tell others where they are or have been. Just don't buy them, buy a phone with the whorish old Symbian OS on it, or better yet, buy a PHONE that does just that, PHONING and not computing like a computer should, I am sorry, you do not need to watch YouTube or play angry birds while driving your car, or anything, play that stuff when you get home on your computer. You want to know why my data has not been leaked from one of those phones? Because I have a phone that just calls, it has a green screen and cannot even text. It works, trust me.

This is absurd. If you are JUST calling (which most people don't very often anymore) then sure just get a normal phone without extra features. But for most people these days there are tonnes of uses for computing on your devices. Text messaging/emailing is done often and is much better on smart phones, especially in businesses or for work where you can save/backup/organize email right to your phone. There is lots of other productivity applications that can be really handy on the go like making particular statistics/finance calculations, recording data can be often handy. Browsing the web is super useful, imagine being at a store looking at something you like, you can instantly look up reviews/other prices. Not to mention using it as a music player to listen to music on the go (on the bus, walking, jogging, etc.). What's wrong with playing games on your phone? Again on the bus... in the car when you aren't driving, anytime you need to kill time. By your logic there is no need for a Nintendo DS or PSP for portable game playing. Matter of fact, by your logic you shouldn't do ANYTHING outside your home and work or school or wherever. Which is absolutely absurd. And if you weren't saying that, then you'd need to carry 100 things on you at a time to get the same functionality as one device. The list of things that it's beneficial for is probably endless. If you don't need to do any of that, well than good for you, YOU don't use it. But for most people you can actually increase productivity when not sitting at a desk and keep in contact/organized much better. Sure you can argue it's not necessary, but so many things aren't necessary but make things more efficient/productive... which is the whole point. It really bothers me when people say things like that.


Yeah! It's also really irritating when people moan about manufacturing defects in car brakes; just get the bus. I could go on, but I won't.

This is just as absurd!! I mean, I'm not saying those people that are moaning have validity, nor that it can't be irritating, but you saying because cars can have defects in their brakes that you should just take the bus instead is ridiculous! Okay and now there is a manufacturing defect in the brakes of a bus... yeah you should just walk. People drive because it's more efficient and convenient than busses. Significantly in a lot of cases. If something is flawed you make it better, you further innovate, you don't just say "well, too bad" and take a step backwards.


I don't have a car. Smartphones are very handy for long bus rides.

There you a go, one of the thousands of benefits of a smartphone...


They don't leak personal data... Google steals it :P

People need to get over stuff like this. First off, sending particular data to companies like Google is accepted by the user (you have to go through it while setting up the phone). And I honestly don't get why people care. It's not it can or even will be used to personally identify you, it's just used to make the service better, or for the company to make money off an otherwise non-profitable or low profit service. That's why I really like Google. They give consumers products/services for free (I'll say generally for the sake of it) but then use data like common searches to sell to make their money that way, rather than charge you. Is that really so much to ask? How many people were actually damaged in any way by this? I'm sure some can give legitimate issues but those are so rare. The rest of you, I'd say you are just being paranoid. Honestly Google can take anything at all they want from my phone as long as it doesn't say it's coming from me or can personally identify me (like pictures), even if it's sent back to me through targeted advertisement. I'd rather see advertisement about new tech stuff because I love tech rather than pregnancy items or something stupid for me to see. Non targeted advertisement would actually be annoying really, because I'd actually love to know what's new in things I'm interested in. Wouldn't you?

Haha rant...... I just felt the need. I know there are legit concerns and I understand that, but honestly this whole privacy thing is completely overstated. Especially people who complain about advertisement. I hate when people complain about that. Like when people complain about youtube! Google has to go through 200TB of bandwidth a DAY with youtube, and it can to run and maintain servers that run at full speed with such massive traffic 24/7. Do you have any idea how much that costs? And they are still providing you with that service for free. Yet you complain that there's little ads here and there, especially those ones you can just close during a video.

I'll stop now...

[galacticaboy]

This is absurd. If you are JUST calling (which most people don't very often anymore) then sure just get a normal phone without extra features. But for most people these days there are tonnes of uses for computing on your devices. Text messaging/emailing is done often and is much better on smart phones, especially in businesses or for work where you can save/backup/organize email right to your phone. There is lots of other productivity applications that can be really handy on the go like making particular statistics/finance calculations, recording data can be often handy. Browsing the web is super useful, imagine being at a store looking at something you like, you can instantly look up reviews/other prices. Not to mention using it as a music player to listen to music on the go (on the bus, walking, jogging, etc.). What's wrong with playing games on your phone? Again on the bus... in the car when you aren't driving, anytime you need to kill time. By your logic there is no need for a Nintendo DS or PSP for portable game playing. Matter of fact, by your logic you shouldn't do ANYTHING outside your home and work or school or wherever. Which is absolutely absurd. And if you weren't saying that, then you'd need to carry 100 things on you at a time to get the same functionality as one device. The list of things that it's beneficial for is probably endless. If you don't need to do any of that, well than good for you, YOU don't use it. But for most people you can actually increase productivity when not sitting at a desk and keep in contact/organized much better. Sure you can argue it's not necessary, but so many things aren't necessary but make things more efficient/productive... which is the whole point. It really bothers me when people say things like that.


It may be absurd, but try to remember, we used to do it without phones, and everything worked just fine. Yes a PSP or Nintendo DS is fine, but they should do exactly what they do, play games, nothing else, we do not need 5 different things to access the web such as a Desktop, then out laptop, then that lovely smart phone, then our Nintendo DSi, and then our PSP. We do not need all of that stuff, they are just ways to get money. I do not have any of that stuff except for a Home Computer and a basic cellular phone. Never once do I find myself wishing I had a Smart Phone so I can look up a review to figure out if I should buy Aunt Jemimah Maple Syrup or the Store Brand. It is something that we have adapted to. I find text messaging to be lazy. If you want to say something, call someone. And if they are busy or in a meeting, CALL THEM LATER. It is as simple as that. We used to do it, and if you text your wife or husband that you love them, I consider that wimpy, you should tell them face to face, If I texted my fiance that I love him, he would be extremely upset at me.

[CraigPaleo]

Yeah! It's also really irritating when people moan about manufacturing defects in car brakes; just get the bus. I could go on, but I won't.

They'll just moan about the defective bus brakes. :D

[akand074]

It may be absurd, but try to remember, we used to do it without phones, and everything worked just fine. Yes a PSP or Nintendo DS is fine, but they should do exactly what they do, play games, nothing else, we do not need 5 different things to access the web such as a Desktop, then out laptop, then that lovely smart phone, then our Nintendo DSi, and then our PSP. We do not need all of that stuff, they are just ways to get money. I do not have any of that stuff except for a Home Computer and a basic cellular phone. Never once do I find myself wishing I had a Smart Phone so I can look up a review to figure out if I should buy Aunt Jemimah Maple Syrup or the Store Brand. It is something that we have adapted to. I find text messaging to be lazy. If you want to say something, call someone. And if they are busy or in a meeting, CALL THEM LATER. It is as simple as that. We used to do it, and if you text your wife or husband that you love them, I consider that wimpy, you should tell them face to face, If I texted my fiance that I love him, he would be extremely upset at me.

We used to have to ride horses. Now we have cars. We used to have to travel by boat, now we have planes. What you are saying is that "we can already manage" so stop innovating, stop changing things. We don't need 5 different things to access the web. But is it not more convenient? Instead of being in a store and looking at a product having to go all the way back home, check out reviews, check out other prices, then come back another day. Or even purchasing something, then going home, finding out there is a better price and going back and returning it, just because we have internet at home why bring it with us? Text messaging takes more work than calling... I'll argue calling is lazy. If I was lazy or didn't want to put effort, I would just call. But they are two completely different things with different applications and pros/cons to both. Texting someone you love them is wimpy? Only doing it over text and never else, okay perhaps. But when were texting, I have to stop texting an call and be like btw I love you couldn't tell you over text because that's wimpy, okay bye, and continue texting? Why not have everything in once device? Because it's more convenient than 5 devices? Again by your logic you are saying you would prefer to carry around a DSi for games, a cell phone for calling, an iPod for music, a calculator for calculating stuff, a little notebook if you need to take a quick note.. etc etc.

I just don't understand what your problem is with devices that can do more than one thing. You can actually save so much time that you can spend more time at home with your family rather than traveling around because you have to go home to check reviews/prices. But the main thing is better living, higher productivity. If you had the world your way, everything would stay the same and nothing will get better, just because it already works. There is always room for improvement. If I had the world my way I'd drop or at least strongly revise the patent system to maximize competition and help maximize innovation so that things get better at a much faster rate.

[galacticaboy]

We used to have to ride horses. Now we have cars. We used to have to travel by boat, now we have planes. What you are saying is that "we can already manage" so stop innovating, stop changing things. We don't need 5 different things to access the web. But is it not more convenient? Instead of being in a store and looking at a product having to go all the way back home, check out reviews, check out other prices, then come back another day. Or even purchasing something, then going home, finding out there is a better price and going back and returning it, just because we have internet at home why bring it with us? Text messaging takes more work than calling... I'll argue calling is lazy. If I was lazy or didn't want to put effort, I would just call. But they are two completely different things with different applications and pros/cons to both. Texting someone you love them is wimpy? Only doing it over text and never else, okay perhaps. But when were texting, I have to stop texting an call and be like btw I love you couldn't tell you over text because that's wimpy, okay bye, and continue texting? Why not have everything in once device? Because it's more convenient than 5 devices? Again by your logic you are saying you would prefer to carry around a DSi for games, a cell phone for calling, an iPod for music, a calculator for calculating stuff, a little notebook if you need to take a quick note.. etc etc.

I just don't understand what your problem is with devices that can do more than one thing. You can actually save so much time that you can spend more time at home with your family rather than traveling around because you have to go home to check reviews/prices. But the main thing is better living, higher productivity. If you had the world your way, everything would stay the same and nothing will get better, just because it already works. There is always room for improvement. If I had the world my way I'd drop or at least strongly revise the patent system to maximize competition and help maximize innovation so that things get better at a much faster rate.

Look, I do not have a problem with devices, I would love to have an iPad or an android phone, but I am tired of people griping about their iPhone leaking data, and then still staying with it but saying how much they hate it or they do not like it. Get over it... get a new phone or shut up and stick with what you have. It is as simple as that. I was in the beginning just merely saying, if you do not want that to happen, then this is one way to knock yourself off of the face of the earth.

[akand074]

Look, I do not have a problem with devices, I would love to have an iPad or an android phone, but I am tired of people griping about their iPhone leaking data, and then still staying with it but saying how much they hate it or they do not like it. Get over it... get a new phone or shut up and stick with what you have. It is as simple as that. I was in the beginning just merely saying, if you do not want that to happen, then this is one way to knock yourself off of the face of the earth.

Fair enough. I am just as tired of people griping about leaking data. But like I said before I think that whole thing is way overstated and is much less of a big deal than people think. Laws on data/cloud data/privacy is completely outdated too and people are aware of that and planning to revise them. But what I say is the biggest security flaw is the user himself. If they can't take care of themselves, than they might be better off with a phone without access to the internet or data syncing with computers etc.

[akand074]

They'll just moan about the defective bus brakes. :D

And then they'll moan about something else because that's just what people do...

[galacticaboy]

Fair enough. I am just as tired of people griping about leaking data. But like I said before I think that whole thing is way overstated and is much less of a big deal than people think. Laws on data/cloud data/privacy is completely outdated too and people are aware of that and planning to revise them. But what I say is the biggest security flaw is the user himself. If they can't take care of themselves, than they might be better off with a phone without access to the internet or data syncing with computers etc.

Actually, you just said it best, why could I not have thunk that... lol

[Grenage]

This is just as absurd!! I mean, I'm not saying those people that are moaning have validity, nor that it can't be irritating, but you saying because cars can have defects in their brakes that you should just take the bus instead is ridiculous! Okay and now there is a manufacturing defect in the brakes of a bus... yeah you should just walk. People drive because it's more efficient and convenient than busses. Significantly in a lot of cases. If something is flawed you make it better, you further innovate, you don't just say "well, too bad" and take a step backwards.

I was being highly sarcastic; my point being that the answer to 'this has a security flaw' is not to use a lesser (or poorly featured) device. Very much the point you were just making, in fact. ;)

[akand074]

I was being highly sarcastic; my point being that the answer to 'this has a security flaw' is not to use a lesser (or poorly featured) device. Very much the point you were just making, in fact. ;)

haha sorry hard to read sarcasm in text! :D

[Grenage]

haha sorry hard to read sarcasm in text! :D

I know; I keep telling myself to make it more obvious or not bother at all, but it never lasts very long!

[aysiu]

It's being fixed (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385565,00.asp):
"Today we're starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts," a Google spokesperson told PCMag. "This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days."

[akand074]

I know; I keep telling myself to make it more obvious or not bother at all, but it never lasts very long!

I disagree. It's actually so much funnier knowing now having not realizing it first!

[jramshu]

Google already fixed this problem long before the news broke. The problem is the carrier refuse to push the updates to existing phones, even after its been made available to them. Instead they favor selling new handsets with the upgrades advertised as a feature.

This is where I have a problem too. I have a HTC EVO 4G running v2.2 with Sprint. I asked them when the Evo would get the 2.3 OS, they say they don't know.

The reason is so they can sell the "new" handsets that do have 2.3 already installed or available for immediate update.

I think it's a load of crap that the carrier gets to make the decision on when updates are released.